Jun. 7—BIG RAPIDS — Saturday could be a banner day for golf in northern Michigan if the leaderboards hold true at the Division 3 varsity boys golf state finals.
The Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators have a two-stroke lead with their eyes firmly locked on a team state championship, and Elk Rapids’ sophomore Baron Vollmer is in a tie for first place individually with Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Owen Kotowski after shooting a one-over 73 at the Katke Golf Course on the campus of Ferris State University on Friday.
Day one of the two-day tournament in Big Rapids started with clouds and some patchy rain that quickly passed through and gave way to a bit of sunshine and high winds. But the elements couldn’t put a damper on a spectacular day of golf from the championship hopefuls.
Elk Rapids head coach Chris Hines said Vollmer, who won the Lake Michigan Conference individual championship, is used to playing in challenging conditions. The sophomore Elk recently played through the rain at the Michigan Amateur qualifier and shot a 75 at the Moor Golf Course in Harbor Springs.
Vollmer finished Friday with a 73, picking up three birdies and a bogey on the front nine and tallying two birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine when the wind ramped up and started blowing anywhere from 20-30 mph.
“He’s able to control his golf ball really well, so he’s got a lot of different shots in his bag that he can hit,” Hines said. “He definitely needed to make some adjustments, and there was a lot of strategy out there, today.”
Vollmer was hitting it well off the tee and putting well, which is quite a good combination to compete for a state championship.
“We were picking out placements off the tee, and he was hitting those almost every time,” Hines said. “If you’re setting yourself up well off the tee, that makes things easier; but he also made a couple of key 6- to 8-footers for birdies and to save par.”
Leading after the first day is an accomplishment in itself, but Vollmer is coming off a back injury his freshman year that kept him out of all but one meet in 2023. Vollmer was not playing golf competitively during his recovery in an effort to ensure a strong sophomore campaign.
“Before his back injury, this is the kind of player he was,” Hines said, noting that Vollmer has played in several Golf Association of Michigan and American Junior Golf Association tournaments. “He’s kind of used to being on this stage. It’s not really new for him. It’s just new in terms of high school golf.”
Vollmer’s return to form does not surprise Hines.
“He’s done this before, so I knew he was capable of what he did out there today,” he said.
Hines hopes to see more of the same Saturday.
“If he just maintains his composure and takes it one shot at a time, he’ll be right where he was today,” Hines said. “We talked about it, and he knows that you’re going to hit a couple shots off line and miss a couple putts, but it’s about how you come back from that. If he stays in the moment, I think he has as good of a shot as anyone.”
St. Francis head coach Jim Hornyak said there were some “mixed emotions” Friday, despite the Gladiators finishing the day in first place and two strokes ahead of Grand Rapids West Catholic with a combined score of 328.
“We had a little bit of a larger lead late in the round that we let some strokes get away from us at the end,” Hornyak said. “But our goal at the end of today was to be in the top three, and obviously we’ve accomplished that — so that’s a good thing.”
David Ansley and Casey Jackson are both tied for seventh place after carding a team-leading 80 on Friday. Owen Jackson fired an 83, and Josh Slocum finished with an 85 to round out the Glads’ top four scorers. Williams Gibbons shot an 88.
“They all know they can play better, and that’s just golf,” Hornyak said. “It doesn’t matter what you shoot, you always feel like you could have done a little bit better. We just hope that we can stay steady again (Saturday) and see what happens. We do like our position. Better to be in the lead than not, but we still have a long way to go.”
Ahead of the final round Saturday, Hornyak said he and the coaching staff have already told the team how proud they are of them — no matter the outcome.
“They’ve performed extremely well. We’re proud of them. Their parents are proud of them,” he said. “We just want them to have fun and enjoy the weekend. They’re really happy about being here, and they’re really melding together as a team.”
Winning a state championship was a top goal of this 2024 Gladiator squad, and all five were back on the practice course at Katke into the evening so they could sharpen their skills.
“They love the game, and they’re having fun,” Hornyak said. “Just seeing that is great.”
Play resumes Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
“Without a senior on the team, we’re excited about next year, too. But if we can do it this year, even better,” Hornyak said. “You take it when you can. If it happens to be this year, great. If not, we’ll try again next year.”
DIVISION 1
Titans in 6th, within striking distance of title
BATTLE CREEK — The Traverse City West Titans find themselves just 11 strokes out of first place and in sixth place after the first day of the Division 1 state finals at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek.
“It was a good day one for us,” West head coach Todd Hursey said. “It felt like a course that the players would not struggle with, but wind was the major factor that made it tough today. Overall, we’re happy with how our guys did.”
Battle Creek was not immune to the windy conditions that ran through the D3 finals in Big Rapids and the D4 finals in Allendale, but the Titans were able to jump out to an early lead at three under par.
“We started on a stretch of holes that had some birdie opportunities, and our guys did a good job of taking advantage of that,” Hursey said. “For five guys who none of them had ever played in the state finals, to be calm and collected early on, we were excited about that.”
The Titans combined to shoot a 316 behind junior Winslow Robinson’s 76, freshman Duncan Robinson’s 78, sophomore Sean Haggerty’s 80 and junior Jason Parrish’s 82. Sophomore Henry Stachnik was just a stroke behind Parrish with an 83.
Detroit Catholic Central is in the lead with a 305 followed by Rochester Adams (307), Ann Arbor Skyline (310), Warren DeLaSalle (311) and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (313).
“We faded back, but we’re still happy to be in the hunt,” Hursey said. “Duncan had a standout round. Even though he’s had better rounds, the state finals pressure and being a freshman in that setting, it was a stellar day for him.”
Hursey said the state finals experience is no doubt valuable for a young team that should return every golfer in 2025; but he also knows that nothing — including another trip to the state finals as a team — is guaranteed.
“We’ve focused on this being our year. You can’t bank on next year,” he said. “As much as we’re excited about the prospect of the talent we have and understand this could be a valuable experience, you have to get your feet wet. This is valuable for the future, but we’re focused on making the most of this year because next year isn’t promised.”
Hursey hopes his Titans can finish well Saturday after scuffling a bit down the stretch Friday.
“That’s what we’d love to see — guys staying in the moment and being tougher at the end of the round,” he said. “I believe that will move us up. Those are five good teams in front of us, and we would have to have a lights-out day to jump all five.”
Golfers tee off in the final round at 9 a.m. Saturday.
DIVISION 4
Glen Lake’s Houtteman tied for 2nd, 5 strokes back
ALLENDALE — Glen Lake’s Michael Houtteman was one of three golfers to finish the day with an 81 and sit five strokes behind the leader after the first day of the Division 4 state finals at Grand Valley State University’s Meadows Golf Course.
Clarkston Everest’s Will Pennanen shot a 76 to hold the solo lead. Hillsdale Academy’s Rykert Frisinger and Saginaw Nouvel’s Alex McCarthy joined Houtteman in the runner-up position with 81s. Regional champion Vaughn Henagan of Harbor Light Christian is a stroke behind and tied for fifth with an 82.
Clarkston Everest is in first place as a team with a 333. Charlevoix is the closest area team, sitting in ninth after combining to shoot a 360.
Hudson Vollmer shot an 85 to lead the Rayders followed by Joe Gaffney with an 89, Bryce Boss with a 92 and Emmett Bergmann with a 94. Maxwell Drenth carded a 96 as Charlevoix’s fifth scorer.
The Lakers are in 12th place with a 377. Joining Houtteman was Gabe Hazelton with a 96, Joel Martin with a 99, Ben Romzek with a 101, and Jacob Switzer with a 102.
Leland combined for an even 400, led by Howie Kropp’s 96. Liam Waskiewicz shot a 98 followed by Colby Connor with a 101, Hayden Vansteenhouse with a 105, and Max Waldrup with a 121.
Frankfort’s Aiden O’Dwyer and Cash Rosum qualified for states as individuals. O’Dwyer shot a 91 to sit in 37th place, and Rosum fired a 99 for 76th.
McBain Northern Michigan Christian’s Titus Johns also made the finals as an individual. He is in 12th after shooting an 85.
Day two of the finals starts at 9 a.m. back at the Meadows.
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